Category: Editorial
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Housing experts say landlords cannot reject or evict tenants over coronavirus fears
Low-income renters face all kinds of roadblocks to finding affordable housing. For many, discrimination has historically been an obstacle to getting and keeping a decent place to live. With fears growing as the coronavirus pandemic spreads, can landlords evict tenants or deny applicants because they might be at risk for COVID-19? Most fair housing experts…
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House lawmakers push national eviction ban and rent suspension
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing legislation that will ban evictions and suspend rent payments for all renters nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of renters are not covered by a patchwork of local, state and federal eviction moratoria. Even renters in places with eviction protections will still owe crippling back…
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Homeless persons face the worst of the coronavirus pandemic
Many state and local governments are recognizing that if COVID-19 spreads among the homeless population, it would be a public health disaster. Cities nationwide are making efforts to help the homeless, but there’s a lot of uncertainty when looking into the future. Shelters do not have the space for safe social distancing. Unsheltered people have…
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Need for emergency rental assistance grows during the coronavirus pandemic
Some members of Congress are calling for a bold federal commitment to emergency rental assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. Although many states have temporarily suspended evictions, just protecting low-income renters during the crisis is not enough. When the eviction orders are eventually lifted, renters will still be on the hook for months of unpaid rent,…
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Infrastructure program at risk of Trump cuts gets big boost to help communities during pandemic
A public infrastructure program that President Trump has tried to get rid of since he took office is showing its usefulness during the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the president’s opposition to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Congress just gave CDBG a $5 billion increase in its most recent coronavirus stimulus package. The new funding…
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How housing authorities are communicating with low income households amid coronavirus
In normal times, it could be hard for an applicant, participant or an interested party to call and speak with a live person at a Public Housing Agency (PHA). Whether it’s by way of being transferred to the appropriate staffer, or carefully navigating an automated phone system, reaching a live person immediately was not always…
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Lawmakers grill Carson on controversial HUD policies
Lawmakers challenged HUD Secretary Ben Carson at a hearing this month about a number of controversial Trump administration policies. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development grilled the secretary about HUD’s proposed budget cuts for FY 2021, as well as moves to weaken rules for ending segregation and to cut back fair…
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Roundtable: Comparing Sanders and Biden on low-income housing
The 2020 Democratic Party forerunners have similar policies, but important differences.
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Local barriers in the way of new affordable housing
Affordable housing faces many barriers at the local level. Some are written into zoning and building codes that discourage new rental housing. Public forums can provide a platform for Not-In-My-Back-Yard opponents. And even in cities that have adopted rules supporting new rental housing, permit backlogs have delayed projects. Low-income renters have the most to lose…
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Affordable Housing Online up close with the candidates at NH primary town hall
Editor’s Note: Affordable Housing Online’s Senior Housing Analyst Chris Holden had a unique opportunity last week to attend one of CNN’s televised town hall events in Manchester, New Hampshire. Below is his personal account of his experience, with reactions to what candidates said about housing policy. Growing up in New Hampshire, I felt lucky that…